Bad Reputation
by Chrys-DASL
Summary: Rattles is fed up with being the bad kid. It all started years ago, but that start is finishing his schooling before it's even begun. When he takes a letter to the school board, suddenly a lawsuit comes about. Can Rattles get rid of his bad reputation? For my 10x10 Challenge/NaNo2018


Rattles (8): ONE thing out of life (8)

_Bad Reputation_

I don't want to be like this anymore. I went my whole life in elementary school pretending to be tough but acting the part a little too well. When your dad leaves you and you don't have anyone to protect you, you tend to overreact. I needed to be the tough guy so I wouldn't get hurt, but that reputation kept following me for years.

I thought I'd be over it in middle school. Grebe Middle School was ten minutes in the opposite direction. I already knew that private record stuff was a load of crap, but my past deeds still followed me—the fight in first grade that got me suspended for a week, the stolen library book my fourth grade year (I lost it, I swear, but no one believed me), and the girl who called me scary when I was in fifth grade that got me pulled out of Chess Club. It all followed me from day one.

"You cannot sign up for that club without permission from Mr. Glenn," I was told, but nobody told me who Mr. Glenn was. They just told me I had to get his permission to enter any clubs, so I sought the guy out. Turns out he was on the school board—I had to get written permission from the school board just to participate.

So I didn't participate.

I wasn't invited on the first few field trips. I'd never been a problem before, but suddenly I was a flight risk. I was going to run away, they said, destroy the destination, they said—they said all these things but none of them were true.

So that's why I'm writing this. I have to let people know that everything they think they know about me is wrong.

[LINE BREAK]

Principal Haney looked up from the paper. He'd read my letter in front of the entire school board. I had filed an official complaint, and now I had to see how it was going to turn out. Everyone was here—my sixth grade teachers, administrators from schools past and present. One guy was even out of retirement just to watch me fail.

"This is a very serious situation," Principal Haney said, taking off his glasses, "When we fill out reports, when we follow protocol, and those rules and regulations are used to hurt children? That is when the protocols need to be changed."

"How so?" the superintendent asked. I'd seen him before, several time. If it were up to him, my mother and I would be evicted from the entire state, the whole planet if they could. He knew my stepfather before he married my mom. The guy told him to run. The guy was rude.

Principal Haney stood firm, "I said what I said in his reports to get him the help he needed. He's an intelligent child, a child who needs more structure, more discipline, but in a positive way. No one ever listened to me. I wrote letters, countless letters, but people stopped listening. I'm sorry to say I stopped writing them. It became a waste of time. The power that was supposed to be mine was ripped from my hands."

"If I may," a school board member said. She wasn't even from my district, yet here she was, standing against me yet again, "I have never seen a single one of these so-called letters—"

"Because they never made it past your gatekeepers," Principal Haney interrupted, gesturing in my direction, "Rattles was seen as such a bad kid, you had him cornered away with all the other bad children. As soon as his name was uttered, doors closed. This cannot continue."

"His reputation proceeds him, Principal," the school board member said. She shook her head, "We cannot allow dangerous students to roam places outside of school causing trouble. They cannot be at school after hours in case they cause trouble—"

"What sort of trouble can one cause on the Chess Team?" Principal Haney demanded, slamming his fist down on the podium, "You all but forced me to remove him or resign! I am better off standing before my students, so I made him leave the team, all because some confused child heard some rumor that you all helped create! This is nonsensical! I hereby accept your letter, Rattles. I wish to meet with you outside this hearing," he said, storming off the stand.

No one said a word as the meeting continued. No one cared about my letter. To them, I was still a bad kid, a horrible kid—a kid not worthy of their education. I left with my head held high, my mother and stepfamily around me. Principal Haney met us in the parking lot and handed us a business card. He got into his car and sped off, but I promised to call him.

[LINE BREAK]

"We're going to court," Principal Haney announced, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk. I'd sat there many times before. I forgot that he didn't just scold me, that he did try to support me, that he did try to argue for me when things got tough.

My mother shifted in her seat, her preferred spot by the door, "I don't know what you mean, Principal."

"I mean we're filing a discrimination suit against the city's school system. I've already contacted my lawyer, and he has agreed to represent you pro bono—that means free of charge," Principal Haney said.

I nodded, "I knew that, but…what is that going to do? I just want to be a normal kid. Now they're going to kick me out for sure, throw me in alternative school or kick me out of the district."

Principal Haney shrugged, "At this point, it would be a positive to go elsewhere. I'm working on that too with my lawyer's help. There's a private school that requires an entrance exam. It's right here in Elwood City, just a few blocks away. You can go there instead, but part of the settlement is that they have to pay your tuition," Principal Haney smiled.

"That doesn't sound possible," my mother said.

"Well, it's been discussed. A lot of people are behind you, Rattles. The school has agreed to do your entrance exam this weekend, and you can start once you're approved for admission. I doubt your scores will be problematic," Principal Haney smiled.

I shook my head, "But can I stay there? Will they treat me equally?"

"They will, and the lawsuit will make sure the city apologizes to you for taking away your childhood. No child deserves what they have put you through. My hands have been tied since day one on many children, but you're the first who truly deserved nothing they ever did to you. I've met those other children, and you are not one of them."

"Thank you for your support, but are you sure we can do this?" I asked.

Principal Haney smiled, "I know we can do this."

[LINE BREAK]

Adjusting to the private school was much easier than I expected. We had to wear scratchy uniforms, but that made everyone the same. I was able to make friends without my reputation following me, and for once I could show off my smarts without being called names. I settled in nicely, enjoying a school where I was valued instead of shunned. I joined the chess team and was allowed on field trips, all the things I wanted but couldn't have at Grebe Middle School.

The court case was taking a long time. Principal Haney's lawyer was a nice man, but he was also stern. The school system was trying to block us every step of the way, but the evidence was mounting against the school system. When my lawyer had the courts contact the teacher in charge of the school's chess club, he admitted he was spoon-fed a line to tell me. Mr. Glenn was just a ploy, he said, but he didn't understand it. He and others joined my corner.

It took until my freshman year of high school for the lawsuit to settle. They finally agreed that it was better for the school system to take a loss and pay the money than continue the suit in court. The private school sent us a letter letting us know things were officially taken care of, and I continued on thinking things were done now.

Except they weren't. More and more kids, parents, and teachers came forward to complain about the system. In Elwood City's school system, files were created supposedly to help students, but many kids like me had horror stories to tell. One girl was never allowed to try out for cheerleading because she had behavioral problems way back in first grade, the same year her father died in a violent accident that she witnessed. Other students had similar stories—they suffered from some childhood trauma or an undiagnosed problem that caused behavior problems, and rather than accept that children change, those children were punished.

Soon there was another lawsuit, this one a much bigger suit. Over fifty students came forward for that filing alone, but by the time it went to court, over two hundred had joined the fight. The national media outlets knew by then, which got the case far more publicity than mine. I couldn't participate because of the earlier settlement, plus I was busy with school, but I followed the case every step of the way.

By the time the lawsuit wrapped up, I was starting college. My transition to the next step in my education was smooth, and I knew that my reputation had finally changed for the good. The students who filed against the school system also had good news: They won the case, and legal action was taken against the school system and many of its individual members. The resulting rule changes were swiftly put in place, and students were no longer followed by dark marks in their records.

While I was happy they won, I knew I was lucky. My reputation was in rough shape when this all started, and I honestly felt like the only people to truly know me for me were my family members, and even my poor stepfather had doubts in the beginning. Thankfully he trusted my mother and me through the process, and now I'm a well-adjusted young adult living away from home without many real problems. I never thought I'd get here, and I never thought people would join me. I thought everyone was against me for so long, but it was an easy adjustment once I got the right treatment. People just had to be nice and not hold my younger days against me, and the private school never did. I was glad things went off in the right direction. My fugure was bright now, and I never had to worry about a bad reputation following me again.

~End

A/N: Piece 34 of 100 for my 10x10 Challenge. This is another one I don't know if I followed the right way, but a good reputation and respect was all Rattles wanted so I guess I did follow it okay. You can find the themes on my profile if you're interested in the challenge. I would love to get more participants too, so let me know if you post anything so I can check it out.


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